Tibetan Trip

by Hanz
(Frankfurt, Germany)

I visited Tibet during my study time in October 2005. It was an exchange research program between my university in Germany and China. I was there to do some experiments for my master thesis and surely to see the region as well.

My Chinese supervisor and took a flight from Chengdu (in West China) to Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. Thanks to my supervisor, I didn't need a special permit to enter that region.

We spent around one week in Lhasa area and slept in a hostel called Eagle Land Guesthouse where located close to the center. The owner is a very careful guy and pleasant. The hostel is about twenty minutes by walking to Jokhang Temple (the spiritual center of Tibet) and Barkor Street, the center of Lhasa. The hostel rented also bicycle and the owner can arrange pick-up service from the airport. We paid around $5 per night.

In our first week, we also visited the Potala temple, the home of the Dalai Lama. The entry fee was around 100 Yuan ($10) for foreigners. It is a very elegant building, full of artworks (Tibetan thangkas and mandalas) and religious atmosphere.

Surely I tried a typically Tibetan butter tea called po cha, which is a mix of yak butter, milk, salt and tea. It suits very good with mo mos, a sort dumpling filled with meat. Mo mos is one of my favourite Tibetan food.

After spending a week in Lhasa, we moved to Chamdo to take water samples for our investigations. The landscape in Chamdo region is unique and very beautiful. Three parallel great rivers (Jinsha, Lancang and Nujiang) converge at Chamdo and snowcapped Hengduan Mountains zigzags through this region.
This area is so peaceful and quiet. I do really fall in love with the beauty of the nature. Here we stayed also one week.

We visited also Laigu Glacier and stayed in a small village with many nice Tibetan people and some monks.

What I wonder from Tibet is the local people living in villages. They are so religious, simple and calm.

Unfortunately I just can spent 2 weeks there. One day I gonna come back there, do a round trip and do more hiking.

You really must go visit.